Then, it all went wrong!
by latheniend
Summary: During DH. One second can make the whole difference. My take on how a little twist of Destiny could have changed the path of the WW. Kind of darkfic. Probably rated M in later chapters. HHr
1. 1

Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling, even if in many ways I wished I was. I do not either pretend to be, thought I'd like. The characters and story line belong to her, I'm just playing around with them... because it's fun.

This idea has been playing on my head for months now. Before DH came out I read a fic that inspired me in many ways, but I couldn't find the words. So, just today I finished reading "The Subtle Knife" by Phillip Pullman, and something clicked on my brain. So, I sat down and three hours later, and five different beginnings, this is what I could come up with.

It happens in the time Harry and Hermione are left alone, at Godric's Hollow. I'm changing the story line from there. I still don't have a pretty good idea of where I'm going, but I'm going.

Anyways, first story published at hope you like it!

* * *

Her eyes darted across the room, as she gripped his hand tightly. As if by holding it she could save herself, how big of a fool. But he seemed to share that same thought, for he gripped probably as hard as her, and her fingers were starting to get numb.

She closed her eyes a little more often than she would have in a normal situation. Or directed them to other less important things, such as a broken window, a broken chair, a broken bed, a broken table... everything was broken.

* * *

A week before, exactly. That had been their doom. Harry had walked over to her, and addressed her with the idea of going to Doric's Hollow. Perhaps it had been her numbness, or her sadness, perhaps her desperations, but she decided to disobey her brain and the warnings this was sending, and agreed.

She had walked into a trap, she knew it the moment she stepped in the graveyard. But, she kept walking, and she did not say a word. She followed Harry blindly into the darkness, into the tombs, silently.

She knew someone was watching, but she didn't have the heart to get him up, and warn him, for he was finally grieving for the loss of his parents. So, she decided to follow the game, act as if nothing was happening.

Perhaps, it had been desperation what had led her there, after all.

Desperation, such a simple word, holding so much meaning. She never paused to consider the real meaning of the word, until then. Stupid, considering how it was the worst of the times to stop to consider anything.

* * *

As soon as she heard Harry screaming from the upper floor, she knew they were doomed. Still, instead of running away and hiding, she ran upstairs. What she saw horrified her in many possible ways. But she didn't stop to process it, she ducked, avoiding the snake's attack.

She and Harry had tried to hurt in any way the snake, but it was stronger and bigger than any of them. She was thrown hard into the wall, and fell into something soft. A bed, she realized a second later.

Her brain yelled her to move, but her muscles refused. They were sore from anguish, cold and now being thrown into a wall.

She heard noises, quick footsteps and felt Harry besides her. A second later he pulled her up and she screamed of pain. Every nerve of her body were reacting.

Harry had screamed something, but her brain didn't seem to process it, so she limited to just stare to him dumbly, before he pulled her to her feet, and jumped into a table, and into the window, but before they could reach it, there was a loud bang and everything crashed.

She had done a last attempt to kill the snake, but the force of her spell wasn't supposed to be that strong. Both, Harry and her fell to the ground. She hit her head into something, and her body complained.

But, she gathered all her will managed to move her head a little. Everything was dizzy and spinning, but found Harry laying just a short distance from her. Her hand moved on her own and grabbed his.

But he did not look to her. He was looking up, to the one who had caused the spell. For they hadn't been able to leave the house in time, Voldemort had reached them, and now was looking down to them, a victorious smile on his lips.

* * *

That was how they had ended up there. They had clumsily gotten to their feet, facing him. If they were going to die, they were going to die bravely. Harry had once told her that, and she reminded herself that she had agreed to him. She couldn't back out then, not after all.

"Thought about escaping, didn't you?" he said.

Harry swallowed, and Hermione could feel him shaking, but he never let go off her hand.

"It has been a long road, hasn't it, Potter? You have been avoiding me for months now, but this is as far as you are going..."

He looked over to her, just a second, as if deciding that it was not worth to loose his time looking over to her.

Nagini moved over to him, and he tilted his head a little, listening to what she knew Harry could understand too, but she couldn't.

"What did you want the sword for, Potter?"

Close your mind, please, thought Hermione. Do not let him know about them, please. At the same she prayed he didn't decide to dig into hre mind too, for she knew she couldn't hide anything.

"What for, Potter!?" he screamed now.

He got no answer. Harry's jaws were clenched, and his left fist was closed, but his hand never let go off Hermione.

"You know I could get it out as easily..." he threw a small look over to Hermione. He couldn't have been any clearer.

Hermione realized she was now shaking, visibly. Harry's grip tightened in her hand, if it was possible.

He was going to torture her to get the truth out of her. She knew she couldn't hold longer, she had never been tortured. And she wasn't Strong like Harry. She couldn't hold longer.

"Let her go, she has nothing to do with this" said Harry, facing Voldemort.

"Oh, please" he said. "She has everything to do with this, otherwise she would be safe in another place"

He took his wand out and pointed at her. He stared at her for a second, then whispered: "Crucio"

The pain she felt was like no other. Her skin burned, and her already sore muscles protested. Her knees gave in and she hit the floor hard. Everything was black, and a shade of different colors, there was nothing more than pain in the world, and death was a bliss.

Then, it stopped, as easy as it had started. She was shaking, moaning, whimpering, and a few seconds later she landed on reality. She felt warm hands around her, holding her up, and a conversation.

"Leave her!" Harry screamed, his voice trembling.

"Tell me, mud blood! What are you doing here?"

Even if she had decided to give in, she didn't had the strength to speak. Then, she felt the pain again, this time her voice did respond. But nothing coherent came. Just a loud shriek, and cries.

The pain stopped but she kept crying. Her mind was dizzy. If it wasn't for Harry's arms around her, she would have gave in already.

She looked up, and found Voldemort looking into her eyes. She had never seen him before, but she had imagined him a thousand times. Had imagined the horror Harry had to face, but that was worst than her worst nightmares.

His eyes pierced her every soul, they were cold, and unfamiliar to anything. They held nothing but hate, outrageous hate, and misery. She tried to feel pity but him, but she found she couldn't.

"Fine, if that's the way you want it" he said. He then pointed his wand to Harry, before using the Crucio spell on him.

She felt the warm arms around her fall and shake, but she didn't even had the strength to look over to him. She just stayed there, shaking, her eyes not really falling into anything. So, that was death. She was going to die in a Christmas night, with Harry's body besides her.

At least she wasn't going to die alone, she thought. For a second she feared, Voldemort was going to leave her alive, but she dismissed the idea almost immediately.

It took her a second longer to realize that Harry had stopped shaking, and was then standing up, gathering all of his strength, apparently. She held into his arm and get up, as well. He wasn't going to stand alone, she had decided that a long time ago, if she could stop that.

Voldemort laughed at their clumsily efforts to stand up, then pointed his wand again to Harry.

"Death, Potter? Is that what you want? I would have desired to have... more glory. But it seems Godric's Hollow is glorious enough for you." He laughed loudly, a cold, humorless laugh. "Then, you shall have it."

He pointed his wand to her, but shocked his head, then pointed back to Harry.

She just acted in the moment. The adrenaline was working its way into her body, and she found she was strong and fast again. Her legs moved, and soon she was standing between Harry and Voldemort.

Voldemort glared over to her, amazed. But, then laughed. "Move!"

"NO!" she screamed, louder than she had expected. Adrenaline was glorious.

"Move, I say, you idiot!" he ordered.

She felt Harry's hands on her waist, and she rested her back on his chest. But his hands weren't trying to comfort her, or hold her on her place, much less. They were trying to get her off the way. "Move" he whispered.

"No" she said, flatly.

"Please, Hermione..." he begged. His voice was calm and steady, but his hands were strong.

"Listen to him, girl! Be wise!" screamed Voldemort. She faced him, lifting her chin and met his gaze. She tried to show in that gaze all of her courage. A courage that had returned just moments before.

But he pointed his wand, nonetheless. "Move" he ordered one last time.

She raised her eyebrow. "Do it" she said.

Then, there was a loud noise, a cracking noise and Voldemort stopped. He looked over to them, but turned on the spot and Disapparated.

The door behind him opened and shadows appeared, but her eyes lost focus and everything went dark and dizzy.

Before she lost her ground, she felt the arms behind her pulling up. That was the last thing she knew before she faded into the welcome darkness.


	2. 2

Disclaimer: I am no JK Rowling, nor do I pretend to be. I wish I was. If I was DH would have ended up completely different... but it didn't. So, I'm not Rowling. You know it. I know it. Everyone knows it. :sighs:

Sorry for taking so long to update, I intended to do it sooner, but my head exploded. Exams, are awful! And homework... And, I've been going crazy all over town looking for "The Amber Spyglass" by Phillip Pullman, because I want an specific version and I can't find it... anyway... I'm dabbling... Back to the action!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

* * *

Hermione opened her eyer. She blinked because of the light, and closed them again. She tried to go back to sleep, but felt hands holding her head and pulling her up. 

"Hey, you are up" said a familiar voice. She looked up and found it was Harry. She smiled sadly.

"We did it!" she replied, happily. Harry laughed.

"Yes, we did"

They fell silence. She looked around, scanning the room she was in. She wasn't in the tent, as she thought at first. She was in a small room, lying on a couch. There was a window across from them, and a door, that was closed. There were a couple of pictures on the wall, but she couldn't make them out. There was a tea table, with a couple of steaming tea cups.

It wasn't day light what had bothered her, as she first thought. As she looked outside the window, she realized it was still night. She sighed.

"How long have I been asleep?"

Harry stood up and handed her a cup as she sat down. "Maybe a couple of hours. Not much"

Hermione grabbed the cup and took a small sip. Harry was looking at her. "What happened?" she asked.

Harry stared at her for a whole minute before answering. "He was going to kill you. I'm sure." he played with the cup on his hands, and breathed heavily. "That was foolish, you know..."

She shock her head. But Harry didn't let her speak. "Then, there was a loud noise, and he Disapparated. You passed out as Remus and Charlie arrived."

"How did they find us?"

"They... had a guard. They expected us to go to Godric's Hollow, and when we Apparated there, and visited my parents grave... they knew it was us. So, they followed us. It took them some time to be able to get in the house, for some spell He used to stop anyone else to get in the house." The "He" mention didn't go unnoticed to Hermione, and she was about to ask him about it, when the door opened and a very big Tonks got in.

"Hey, you are up!" she said happily.

Hermione stared, "Why is everyone to surprised I woke up?" Tonks laughed.

"We are just happy" Tonks replied.

Harry stood up and sat besides her, as Remus entered the room.

"How are you, Hermione?" he said.

"Fine" she replied, with a small smile.

Harry was sitting next to her, and they were both drinking the tea. Hermione was looking outside the window, thinking.

They had walked straight into a tramp. They could have died, and all because of her. There was no one else to blame, but her. She should have followed her guts, that had told her not to. They could have died, was all she thought about.

What would have happened if they had died? Who would have fought Voldemort? Who would have destroyed the Horcruxes? Besides them, only Ron knew about the Horcruxes, but he didn't have the guts to do it. He didn't even have the guts to stay besides Harry.

They still had to destroy the damn locket, and Voldemort knew they were unto something. He knew they were looking for the sword. He still didn't know what for, but he knew. It was just a matter of time before he figured it out.

It took her several minutes to realize there was conversation around her, as lost she was in her thoughts.

"Ron warned Bill. He told him you might want to go to James and Lily's graves, so we set a guard there..." Remus was saying. "When we saw you there, there was no way we could know it was you. But, when you stopped at their graves, there was no doubt.

We wanted to follow you, make sure you were okay, but without giving us away. We didn't realize something was wrong, until we heard noises at Bagshot's house. We tried to get in, but... You-Know-Who must have set a spell around it, making sure we couldn't get it. It took us several minutes to do it.

And, apparently, we did it just in time" he finished.

"You did" said Harry.

"You-know-who?" asked Hermione, looking around. Remus had always been brave enough to mention Voldemort's name.

It was Tonks who answered. "They had set a... trigger into his name. If you say it, they will be able to find you, anywhere. It's taboo."

Hermione fell silence. She couldn't believe it. Had she, or Harry, made the mistake of saying Voldemort's name, they would have been death long before they even went to Godric's Hollow.

Harry pulled her hand, and squeezed it. She looked over to him.

Remus didn't miss the action and simply asked, "You're leaving, aren't you?"

Harry sighed and looked over to him. "Yes"

Hermione wondered why they couldn't stay, maybe just for one night, but decided it was better that way. If they got too used to having a house, a bed, and someone to look over for them, it would only make it harder to leave later, as inevitable as it was.

"We don't know what you're going," Remus said. "and if you do not want to tell us, you don't have to. But, you have to know... the order is at your disposal, Harry. Whatever you need, any help, you know you can have it."

Hermione silently agreed with him, but said nothing. Harry seemed to silently disagree. He was looking down, and was absently playing with Hermione's knuckles, gently. He got up, and pulled Hermione with him.

"Thank you... for... everything" he said, looking over to Remus and Tonks.

They both nodded, and smiled, but said nothing. Tonks walked over to the door, and came back a minute later with some food. "You are both looking extremely skinny, you have to eat" she said, as she handed the food to Hermione, who smiled gratefully.

"If you ever need any help, feel free to come here. You know the location now, and the password," he said looking over to Harry. "And if you ever find a way to communicate with us, do not hesitate"

"We won't" said Hermione.

Harry led her to the door and through another room, he turned left and then found another door, that led them outside.

They found themselves facing a small forest. The grass was soft under their feet, but they kept walking. Harry was leading her.

They stopped, and turned around. Tonks and Lupin were behind them, they smiled, and Harry turned around on his place, Disapparating him and Hermione.

* * *

They operated in a cold forest. Hermione pulled out the tent and murmured the protecting charms, as Harry watched her. 

When she finished, and the tent was ready, they walked inside in silence. Hermione sighed sadly, remembering the warmth of the Lupin's house, and how protected she had felt. There, she felt vulnerable and lonely.

But, she wasn't lonely. Harry was with her. She turned around to look at him, and found him staring back at her. She smiled, but sensed something wrong with him.

"What is it?" she asked worried.

Harry sat in the armchair as he sighed. He fell silent for a moment before answering, "My wand broke."

Hermione blinked. Surely she had misheard him. "What?" she asked.

"My wand broke" his voice was shaking.

Hermione started at him. He opened the bag Hagrid had gave to him and pulled the wand out. He shoved it to her.

Hermione took it on her hands and blinked again. She couldn't believe it.

"How...?" she started, before realizing. "It was me!?" she screamed.

Harry shock his head. "It was me" she said again. "I used a Blasting Spell... I... I'm sorry..." tears were sparkling in her eyes.

Harry stared at her. "You did? I believed it was V... You-Know-Who." He said.

"I did, Harry!" she was fighting back tears. Harry blinked, and stood up.

"Well," he said, "I'll just borrow yours for now, then. While I keep watch"

Hermione blinked. She handed the wand over to Harry as he walked outside the tent. She tried to blink back the tears, but she couldn't.

She had broken Harry's wand. She couldn't imagine how would she felt if it had been her wand. He must hate her. In the war against Voldemort, she had left him defenseless, wand-less.

She sat there, crying hard, but silently. She had failed him. Over and over again. She wondered vaguely if he wished she had left with Ron. She believed yes. He should have better companions, people who were brave enough to stand up for him, and not break his wand. People who could find the Horcruxes and destroy them easily.

She cried for what felt like hours, before she realized her legs had long gone numb, and the chilly air was making her shiver. She stood up, walked over to the kitchen and heated water.

She walked outside the tent, holding the two cups of tea and a book she had stolen from Bagshot's house, and found him sitting on the cold ground. "Harry?" she asked.

He looked over to her, surprised. She handed him the cups, and sat next to him. "Thanks" he said.

"Do you mind if I talk to you?"

"No" he said. He was still angry, she could tell, but was trying to hide it from her.

"Harry, you wanted to know who that man in the picture was. Well... I've got the book" she said, as she handed him the book. "The Life and Life of Albus Dumbledore"

* * *

They spent around half an hour discussing about Dumbledore, his life, his intentions. She wondered if he was still mad at her, but decided to not discuss it yet, but continue with the conversation. 

"Maybe I am" he said quietly, after some time. "Look what he asked from me, Hermione! Risk your life, Harry! And again! And again! And don't expect me to explain everything, just trust me blindly, trust that I know what I'm doing, trust me even though I don't trust you! Never the whole truth! Never!" he finished his voice raisen.

They were both standing up, but she couldn't remember exactly when she had stood up. They were gazing at each other.

"He loved you" she finally managed to whisper. "I know he loved you"

"I don't know who he loved, Hermione, bit was never me. This isn't love, the mess he's left me in. He shared a damn sigh more of what he was really thinking with Gellert Grindelwald than he ever shared with me."

He picked up her wand and sat back down on the ground.

Hermione bit her lip, and stared at him. She picked up the book and the cups, and walked past him into the tent, but stopped herself. She lowered her hand, and laid in on top of Harry's head, as she knelt. His eyes were closed.

"Do you love me?" He opened her eyes, and stared at her in confusion.

"I said, do you love me, Harry?" she asked again.

Harry stared at her, frowning. "I do" he said.

"This isn't love, you said, this mess he's left you in. He didn't love you, and that's why he didn't mind leaving you in this mess. I say, you're contradicting yourself."

Harry looked very confused, but didn't try to stop her. "If you didn't love me you would... you wouldn't "let me in this mess", Harry."

He opened his eyes in realization, and swallowed hard. He grabbed the hand that was laying on top of his head, and put it between both of his.

"And, I love you too, by the way" she said, as tears were coming back to her eyes. Harry smiled sadly, and hugged her. "And I'm sorry I broke your wand." She said with a strained voice.

"Don't mention it, Hermione! I have no right to be mad at you!" he said as he pulled away from her. He wiped the tears from her cheeks and smiled. "You risked your life for me, in many ways, tonight. You could have died, you fool!" his hands were on the side of her head, keeping eye contact. "Don't you ever do that again, you listen to me!" he said.

Hermione laughed and more tears came running down her eyes.

Harry pulled her back to him, and she rest her head against his chest. He was warm, despite the freezing cold. She didn't know how long they were like that, but when she looked up from his chest, the dawn was already breaking.


	3. 3

**Disclaimer: Uhm... the usual? I'm NOT JK Rowling!**

**I'm sorry. I couldn't resist. I wrote this today, and it is incredibly short and... boring... and... uhm... It's actually just a filling chapter! But, next chapter is coming and I'm really excited about chapter 4, so I OBVIOUSLY needed to post this chapter first... (duh) **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You make me... happy:)**

* * *

Harry was sitting at the entrance of the tenth while she was scanning the pages of an old book. A book she had read countless times already, desperately trying to find something, anything, new.

But, there was nothing new to be found. She had been desperately clinging into her books for the last couple of weeks, but they weren't giving her any new answers. She sighed. She was going desperate, trying to find an use for herself

Harry looked over to her, and smiled sadly. She tried to return the gesture, but found it was hard. Instead, she stood up from the armchair she had been sitting for the last couple of hours, and walked around the tent.

She couldn't take it anymore. She felt trapped. She never realized how much she loved the great, big halls of Hogwarts, or it's forest and grounds. She loved outdoors, and she never realized it until that moment.

"I know why the caged bird sings..." she whispered, absently.

"What is it?" said Harry from outside.

She cursed herself for saying it out loud. "I was just thinking out loud..." she said as she walked outside and sat down next to him.

They were still camping on the same forest, but several miles up north. Despite the fact that the sun was showing his face through the trees, the air was freezing cold. She tightened her old sweater around her and put the hood up.

Harry graped his arm around her, trying to share some warmth. He was staring absently into the forest, and Hermione wondered what he was thinking.

They had barely spoken that day at all, but it wasn't the uncomfortable silence that had filled them after Ron had left. It was more of those comfortable silences they used to have back at Hogwarts. Things were coming back to normal between them, Hermione thought, the old Harry and Hermione who used to spent amount of hours at the common room or the library or the grounds. She smiled, and turned her face to press it against Harry's arm, taking his scent.

It wasn't long before she grew tired of just sitting there, so she got up and walked. She just needed to stretch her legs, but she couldn't go far.

Even if it wasn't much, it made her feel a little lighter. She could move, and she wasn't inside the tenth, that was good. But not enough, she was still trapped inside that circle that protected them from enemies.

She chose the three that was right in front of Harry and sat resting her back on it. He stared back at her in silence. Several minutes later, Hermione realized they were just staring at each other, without speaking.

She had never been able to hold anyone's stare like that. Usually, she would smile or speak. She found she didn't find it as uncomfortable as she would have expected.

"It's Christmas." She said in a matter-of-fact voice.

Harry raised an eyebrow, "It is"

"I didn't get you a present" he looked taken back.

"I didn't either."

Hermione laughed softly. "How you say we go downtown and buy something?"

Harry looked terrified, and looked at her silently for a few moments, before saying, "Something like what?"

"A gift" she said simply.

"A gift?" he looked outraged. "Hermione, we don't have money to be spending it on... gifts"

Hermione acted offended, "No gift for Christmas?"

Harry rolled her eyes. "You're such a little child." He laughed too.

* * *

They used the rest of the Polyjuice potion they had used last night to go to the nearest town, which was some miles to the west.

Harry was leading the way, even though he didn't know where he was leading. There was a bright sun shinning down upon them, and there were a few people walking around. None of them paid them much attention, except a little girl who walked over to them, holding a basket full of flowers.

"A flower for your wife, mister?" she asked happily

Harry looked troubled, but Hermione laughed. He smiled too, and looked diverted. "Sure..."

Hermione walked happily through the park, with the red rose on her hand. It wasn't much, but at least she wasn't trapped in that god damned tenth anymore. And, she had a rose. The year previous, something such as a simple flower and a simple walk on a park wouldn't mean anything to her, but at the moment, she couldn't have asked for anything better.

Harry was sitting on a bench, eating some fries he had bought. He looked like a little boy eating them. He had offered Hermione some, but she had refused. When she said a gift, she had meant it. They couldn't afford to spend much money. She had her rose and he had his fries.

She walked over to him and sat next to him, smiling. He had finished his fries and set the plate aside. Hermione turned around to look at him, but he didn't respond her smile.

"It's time to go back" he said.

Hermione nodded. They got up from the bench and started walking towards the end of the village, towards the forest.

As they were nearing the forest, they walked in silence. What had started as a sunny day was slowly turning into a cloudy night. A storm was coming, she could feel it. She decided it was better if they reached the forest and camped before it started.

* * *

They Apparated in a small clearing, some miles north. She had taken out her wand, their wand, she correct herself, and murmured the spells as Harry silently watched her.

She entered the tenth first, and as Harry was entering the first thunder stroked. They both looked up, and felt the drops falling unto the tent.

Harry went to sit on the armchair as Hermione stood still on her place. So much for the fun day, she thought. She wondered how much longer they would have to keep on hiding from the world, pretending to go unnoticed to the world. She wondered how much longer she could take living like a criminal, hiding, never settling in one place. She wondered how much longer she could take it before losing her mind.

She realized she had been standing in the same spot for several minutes, still. She seemed to be doing that a lot, lately. She felt Harry's warm hand grabbing hers, and she forced her eyes up to his.

"I'll take the first watch"

She shock her head. "No, you did it last night..."

"It's okay..." he said. Hermione stared at him, wondering. "But, I can take some company for a while"

A couple of hours later, she was still sitting on the hard ground, but it wasn't raining any more, luckily. She was staring into the forest, but she wasn't really looking.

Harry had long fallen asleep and had his head resting on her shoulder. His breath tickled her softly, but she didn't want to break the contact. Apparently, that was the only thing keeping her sane.

She had always been affectionate with Harry. She had been more affectionate with Harry than with Ron, too. But, lately... it was as if she couldn't live if she didn't hold his hand.

Such a gesture, that once had been like taboo for them. They would have never done it as often as they had been doing it that day, if they weren't alone. But they were alone. He was the only person she could reach out for comfort, and the same for him. And Harry probably needed her more than she needed him.

She wondered what that war would make to them. To their friendship, their relationship and their psyches. She decided they would never be the same. She even doubted anyone but themselves would ever understand them as they did. The only one who could near that feeling was Ron...

But Ron had left, she had to remind herself. He had walked out of them, and left them completely alone. It had been the damned locket's fault, she knew it. Because she felt it too every time she wore it, but she couldn't blame it completely on it. Both she and Harry had wore it too, and they hadn't given up... yet.

As she was sitting there, feeling more lonely than she had ever felt in her life, she reminded herself why she was there. She was there because of Harry. And that made her remember she wasn't alone. She made a promise to herself, she would never leave Harry alone. Not as long as it was in her hands.

She had proven herself she was able to stand up and face Voldemort for him. She had nothing to fear anymore. She caressed lightly Harry's hair and breathed deeply, filling her nostrils with the chilly air.

She thought of him, and realized how selfish she had been. Harry was suffering, too. Probably more than her. Ron had walked out of him, too. And if she felt alone, she could just wonder how alone he felt.

And, she cried.

She cried for the life she could have had, and had lost. She cried for the life Harry could have had, and had lost. She cried for the life they were living, and wondered, if it could be a happy life.

She doubted. But, there was always hope.

A single tear fell from her cheek and fell to the ground. She stared down to it, and whipped the rest of them, before they even got to properly fall. She took a shaky breath, and forced herself to stop being such a whining girl. She forced herself to be a big girl.

And one last tear fell, for the innocence she and Harry once had, and had lost.

Finally, she forced herself to stop crying. Stop crying for things that were long lost, and among them was Ron. No more crying in the nights, pretending Harry couldn't hear her. No more feeling pity for herself. Ron had walked out of them, out of her.

* * *

**Love...**

**Lat :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: The usual! NOT JKR. **

**Thanks to Manuel, for beta-ing this story. I desperately needed help and he gave it to me. THANKS! **

**I hope you like this chapter!**

* * *

It was freezing cold outside, but the tent was warm. "Thank God" she thought. Her eyes were still closed, but she was slowly becoming conscious of everything around her.

She could hear the movements of the trees surrounding the tent, and the breeze moving them. She could hear the cracking of the fire in the fireplace, the noises her bed made as she moved a muscle.

She slowly opened her eyes, looking over to the lonely tent. She got up, putting on her warmest sweater; she walked outside, looking for Harry.

But he wasn't there. She stared to the spot where he should have been, blankly. She looked around, then inside the tent, but he was nowhere to be found.

She panicked. Where the hell had he gone? Her breathing was starting to come in short gasps. She had dreamed about it a couple of nights before.

* * *

She had woken up shaking violently and crying, in her dream Harry had walked out on her too, leaving her the task of finding and destroying the Horcruxes. A task, she knew, she could never complete alone.

Her worst nightmare had become true. She couldn't find him. Either he had been taken by Death Eaters or he had walked out on her.

The second choice was the most likely. The Death Eaters wouldn't have taken Harry away, while leaving her behind, sleeping peacefully. It was ridiculous.

She looked around for her wand; it was nowhere to be found. Now, she was mad at him. He hadn't just walked out; leaving her completely alone, he had also taken her wand.

But then, a silver doe walked over to her. She blinked. It couldn't be. It was a patronus, but... she didn't know to whom it belonged.

The doe nodded to her, and walked away. It turned its head back to her, nodding again. It wanted her to follow. But, could she trust it? She didn't even knew to whom it belonged. It could very well be a trap.

The doe nodded again, more desperately this time, so she made up her mind. She started to follow it through the woods, through a big maze of trees.

* * *

She walked into a clearing just in time to see Harry diving into a frozen pond. She blinked. 'Had he completely lost his mind?'

She walked over to the pond, and saw him coming to the surface, but something, or someone, pulled him back.

She gasped. She didn't think about it twice before diving into the pond. The water was freezing cold, and she felt like thousand knives were piercing through her skin. She found Harry immediately and tried to pull him up, but she couldn't.

He was holding his hands to his neck, and she understood. She used all of her strength to rip the locket out of his neck, and she did. She was sure she had hurt him, but she managed to get it off.

She helped him out of the pond, and onto the ground. They were both shaking violently, and Harry's skin was an alarming shade of purple.

"The sword..." he managed to say between coughs.

"What?" Hermione said.

She looked over to the pond, and saw it. He was right. The sword they had been looking for like mad was right there. She didn't think twice and dove into it.

She grabbed the sword and threw it outside just before she slipped out of it, too. She walked over to Harry, who was still shaking on the ground.

"Talking about foolish, Harry Potter!" she screamed. She, too, was shaking. But Harry had been under the water for longer, and he wasn't wearing as many layers of clothes as she was.

She crawled over to him, and pulled his head up to look at him in the eye. "You're going to get hypothermia!" she said, losing control.

Harry's breathing was slowly regaining control, and soon he managed to say without coughing. "The... locket..."

"It's here" said Hermione, as she grabbed it.

"Destroy it!"

"No, do it yourself..." she said

"Destroy it!" Harry demanded again. "You got the sword... you should do it."

Hermione looked frightened. She surely couldn't do it. It was Harry's duty, after all. Not hers. But when he saw the determination in his eyes, she nodded. She got up, helping Harry to stand as well.

Harry grabbed the locket and laid it on a rock, as she grabbed the sword. It was heavier than she had expected, she wondered if she would be able to hit the locket right.

Harry was kneeling next to the locket, holding it with his hands; he whispered something she couldn't understand in parseltoungue.

The locket burst open and a very young Voldemort submerged from it.

"I have seen your heart, Hermione Granger..."

She closed her eyes and forced herself to not listen to what he was saying, but it was hard.

"... but he walked out of you. Just like everyone else will..."

She closed her eyes with more force that time. She whispered something illogical even to her, just trying to keep her mind somewhere else... she vaguely heard Harry calling for her. Her mind drifted back into what Tom Riddle was saying...

"... and he... his heart does not belong to you. He holds on to you, on to your body, but it is not you he thinks of..."

Hermione opened her eyes. He was talking about Harry. She could feel Harry's eyes on her, but she refused to look at him.

"... someone who doesn't even deserve him..." Ginny's form was suddenly in the middle of the forest, and for a split of second, Hermione allowed herself to fall into Tom Riddle's trap.

Then, she heard Harry calling for her. Her mind drifted back into reality, with all the strength she didn't know she had, she hit the locket. The force of the strike made her hands feel numb, forcing her to loose her balance.

* * *

She was on the ground, on her knees, crying out tears she didn't even know she was crying. She could feel Harry moving near her, he put on his dry clothes and wrapped a warm sweater around her.

Hermione didn't dare to look at him, she had the strange feeling he didn't want to look at her, either.

Had Riddle been right? Could it be he knew more about her than she did?

What had changed in that couple of days inside of her, that she didn't even noticed. She had indeed noticed that she reached out for Harry more often than it was allowed between friends. She realized she missed him when he wasn't with her. And that was a lot considering, they were always together.

"Hermione?" she heard Harry whisper, unsure.

She finally gathered what was left of her strength, and looked up to him. His skin was returning to a, barely, normal color. He was still shaking, though.

He offered her a hand, and helped her up. They both looked down to the, finally destroyed, locket.

"It's finally destroyed..." he said, barely audible.

She nodded. Harry wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her back to the tent.

Harry entered first, quickly walked over to her clothes. He had been longer under water, but she had dived with her clothes, which were still dripping. The sweater Harry had wrapped around her was already soaked as well.

Hermione's eyes were wide open, staring blankly before her. She vaguely felt Harry pulled her hands, taking the sweater off, as he led her closer to the fire.

* * *

Her mind was a mess. Perhaps Riddle had been right. Perhaps she was falling for Harry, she wondered as she watched him walk over to a chair where he laid the, now, wet sweater.

She wondered what he felt about what he had just heard and seen. But she didn't have much time to wonder about it, for Harry started pulling her own sweater up.

She lowered her arms, trying to cover herself. Harry smiled warmly to her, and tried again. This time, she didn't try to stop him. She just raised her arms, and left him take the soaked clothes of her.

Her mind vaguely registered how odd the situation was. She was almost naked in front of Harry, making her feel more vulnerable than she had ever felt. But she didn't even have the strength to think much about it, not even to try to cover her up.

Harry helped her into some warm pants and sweater. He used her wand to dry her hair. Having wrapped another blanket around her, he walked over to the kitchen.

How foolish of her. To fall in love in the middle of a war. And with Harry, nonetheless. But, she wasn't even sure she had fallen in love. She just... felt for him. What, she wasn't sure. Sure, it wasn't the same feeling she had back at Hogwarts, but it wasn't love, she was sure.

It was need, she realized. She needed him, desperately. That was why she had been clinging to him so desperately.

* * *

He entered the room again, holding two cups of steaming tea. He walked over to her, and handed it to her. She took it, and let her hands warm with the heat of it.

She took a single sip, before putting it down and sitting on the floor as Harry watched her closely.

She wrapped the blanket more tightly around her.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Good..." she said. "How are you?"

"Good..." he replied. They both nodded. Hermione noticed Harry's skin was now showing a healthy color.

They were both sitting on the floor, just looking at each other. Hermione darted her eyes around the room as she tried to find words to what she was feeling.

As soon as she opened her mouth, she felt his arms around her neck.

"You must not listen to him, Hermione..." he was saying. "That's what he does. Try to confuse people..."

He stopped, and pulled away slightly. "I will not walk out on you, I swear" he said firmly.

She nodded, bitting her lip. She felt the familiar sting in her eyes as tears were coming.

"And do you really believe I care for Ginny right now?" he said. "She is the very last on my mind. Right now, you come first, I swear"

The tears finally found their way through her eyes and were falling on her cheeks. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him fiercely. He returned the gesture with the same force, wrapping his arms around her waist.

She cried what felt like all the tears in the world, before she finally managed to sooth herself taking deep breaths that hurt her ribs. He was holding her head by the sides, helping her wipe the rebel tears that kept falling down.

She raised her hands as well, resting one on his shoulders while the other was tangled on his hair.

He wiped a tear that was very close to her lips, his eyes stayed locked there. Before she realized what was going on, Harry lowered his head and pressed his lips, softly against hers. It was so gentle, that Hermione even doubted it could be considered as a kiss.

Harry pulled away slowly, but Hermione reached out for him. Their lips barely rose, they pulled away again, both at the same time. Then, they both leaned down again and their lips met half way through. She closed her eyes at the contact.

It was a small kiss, but it was enough for the cold blood in her body to warm up again. His hand rested against her cheek, while the other was grasping her sweater with such force.

He rested his forehead against her, his eyes closed. She closed hers, too, and welcomed sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Don't, don't and don't. All belongs to JK Rowling. **

**Sorry it took so long to update but I've been kind of busy lately. I just finished reading His Dark Materials and cried like a little baby for a couple of days. I just finished crying and decided "Hey! I will write a bit..." So, here it is. If you have read the books, you will notice that I kind of stole a phrase from the book. But, it belongs to Phillip Pullman. **

**Anyways, hope you like it!**

* * *

Hermione darted her eyes around the solitary forest. It seemed as if the dawn grew closer, the solitude of it, grew bigger. There was not a single noise around her, besides the steady breathing that was coming from inside the tent. Harry was sleeping.

Her legs had gone numb, therefore she was occasionally moving them, but besides that, she wasn't moving much. Her mind kept drifting back to a couple of nights previous. She had kissed Harry. Or, Harry had kissed her. It didn't really matter at all, the point was, they had kissed.

Hermione shock her head at how childish she sounded. It didn't matter who had done it, just that they had done it. She hadn't tried to stop it, and neither did he.

She casted a quick glance over to the inside of the tent. He was still sleeping.

They hadn't really talked about it. He hadn't given any signs to do it, and she decided not to push the subject. She didn't want to know what he thought about it. And she didn't even know what to tell him.

Perhaps, she thought, it's better like that. Perhaps they shouldn't press the matter further. Leave it as an unresolved matter, and never talking about it again. It was normal, right?

Hermione looked up to what she could make out of the sky. She didn't have much experience with it, but she had read a lot of books and watched a couple of movies. Friends do kiss friends.

No, they don't. She sighed. If friends were made to kiss each other, they wouldn't be called friends.

A sudden movement interrupted her thoughts. Harry had woken up.

* * *

She stood up from her sitting place and walked inside the tent.

"I need a wand" Harry said.

Hermione looked up to him. They were sitting on the floor that morning, eating a breakfast made from the very last of the food Tonks had given to them.

For the last couple of days, since the... "Incident" (as Hermione had chosen to call it), they had barely spoken to each other. So, of course, the sudden desire of Harry to make conversation surprised Hermione.

"I know" said Hermione.

They both nodded, feeling the tension that was creating after two days of barely speaking.

* * *

Hermione breathed heavily and steeled herself. She walked over to where Harry was sitting staring absently to one of her books, pretending to be reading.

"We need to talk" she said. She was holding The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore book under her left arm, and he saw it.

His eyes expressed resentfully, but he said nothing, just nodded.

"I want to go and see Xenophilius Lovegood"

He looked definitely surprised.

"Sorry?"

Hermione sighed and closed her eyes. "Xenophilius Lovegood. Luna's father. I want to go and talk to him!"

"Er... why?"

* * *

They Apparated somewhere near the Burrow. Hermione looked on it's direction, and thought of Ron. He was probably there, happy with his life. Not knowing or caring about his friends. What would he tell if he knew about the incident?

Who cares, Hermione thought.

They were both hidden underneath the Invisibility Cloak. Hermione grabbed Harry's arm, noticed he was also looking into the Burrow. She frowned. Something in her stomach squirmed at the realization. He was thinking of Ginny.

They started walking over in the direction of the Lovegood's house in silence. Hermione was lost in her thoughts. That something that squirmed in her stomach was still moving furiously apparently.

How dared he look over to the Burrow with those eyes. How dared he think of Ginny, when he had just kissed her a couple of days previous. She threw a quick glance over to him. The moron...

* * *

The door opened and Xenophilius Lovegood stood in front of them. Hermione realized he looked like a mess. His clothes, his hear, his face... they all looked messy and uncared. She wondered silently if that was how she looked.

They had taken the cloak just before knocking on the door.

"What? What is it? Who are you? What do you want?" he asked.

* * *

"Mr. Lovegood," said Harry. "Where's Luna?"

"Excuse me?"

"Where's Luna?"

"I've... already told you. She's down at Bottom Bridge, fishing for Plimpies."

Hermione walked over to a nearby desk where the copies of the Quibbler were laying.

"Harry, look at this" she said, urgently.

She showed him the front of the magazines, which showed his picture, with the words "Undesirable Number One".

"The Quibbler's going for a new angle, then?"

Hermione walked around the room, scanning pictures and copies of the magazines, letters, everything she could find.

"They took my Luna..." Mr. Lovegood was saying. "Because of what I've been writing. They took my Luna and I don't know where she is, what they've done to her. But they might give her back to me if I... if I..."

"Hand over Harry?" Hermione finished.

He just looked over to them. "They will be here at any moment. I must save Luna. I cannot lose Luna"

He walked over to the staircase, trying to stop them from leaving. Hermione drew her wand, ready to attack.

"Don't make us hurt you" Harry said. "Get out of the way, Mr. Lovegood."

Hermione was closer to the window, and saw movement outside. She casted a quick glance outside and saw people landing and getting off their brooms.

"HARRY!" Hermione screamed.

Harry looked over to the window too, and as they did, Mr. Lovegood drew his wand as well. He pointed over to Hermione, and Harry, realizing his mistake, grabbed Hermione by the waist and pulled her down.

There was a very loud noise and the world seemed to be coming to an end. Everything within the room seemed to crash. Harry and Hermione flew through the air as well, and fell hard on the floor.

Hermione tried to get up but there was something heavy on her legs. She tried to move it herself, but couldn't. She heard coughing and realized Harry was besides her trying to help her get up, but the wood that was over her leg was heavy.

They looked around. Everything in the room did crash. Hermione looked over to Harry and put her finger on her lips, begging him for silence.

They heard movement on the floor below. "No... no... upstairs... Potter!" they heard Mr. Lovegood saying.

They were trapped. The Death Eaters were inside the house. Hermione looked around, trying to find a way out, but without being able to get up things weren't going to be easy enough.

"I swear... I swear... Potter's upstairs!"

"Homenum revelio" said a Death Eater.

Hermione gasped involuntarily. She knew what the spell was for. They were now going to know they were indeed there.

"There's someone up there all right, Selwyn"

"It's Potter, I tell you, it's Potter! Please... please... give me Luna, just let me have Luna..."

Hermione's brain was working furiously. She pointed Harry, silently asking him to go over to her.

"Come on, we've got to get out of here" he said. Hermione looked over to him, thinking furiously. They only had one chance.

"Do you trust me, Harry?"

Harry nodded, rising an eyebrow. "Of course I do" he said, simply.

"Okay, then..." she breathed. She offered her hand to Harry, who took it quickly. It was their first physical contact in the last two days.

The printing press blocking the stairs was vibrating, they were going to get in any second.

"Hold tight" she whispered to him. "Hold tight... any second"

Mr. Lovegood's face showed up and she pointed her wand over to him.

"Obliviate" she cried. Then, pointing her wand to the floor, "Deprimo!"

There was suddenly a hole in the floor beneath them, and they fell through it, as she held hard on to Harry's hand desperately. They heard a scream from bellow, and for a split of second were able to see the Death Eaters. She forced herself to concentrate on what she was trying to do, as she turned around in mid air and Disapparated them.

* * *

They fell on the ground. Harry screamed in anger, as Hermione drew out her wand and started muttering all the protecting spells.

Harry entered the tent and then turned around to look at Hermione, who was still sitting on the ground, looking really pale.

"You okay?" he asked worried, as he walked back over to her.

"I think I broke my leg" she said.

Harry looked terrified. "You think?"

He walked closer to her and helped her up. He put her arm around his shoulders, and held her waist with his arm. They entered the tent, and he laid them on one of the couches. He knelled in front of her and raised her pants up to take a better look to her leg.

A heavy chest of drawers had fallen on top of her leg. She had assumed it was broken, therefore. That, and the pain she was feeling, which was killing her.

Harry gasped, and Hermione looked over to him, scared to look at her leg.

"Well, it's not broken", he said. Hermione looked down to her leg and saw blood. Blood all over her leg, and her pants. Too much blood for her taste.

"What am I gonna do?" she asked, her voice higher than she expected.

Harry smiled. "I'm afraid we're going to have to cut it..."

She hit him playfully in the head. "Don't joke about it, Potter! It hurts... and look at all this blood!"

Harry laughed. It only annoyed Hermione. That was no time for laughing, she was bleeding and they had almost been caught by Death Eaters... and they had been betrayed, again!

She stared angrily to Harry, who tried to act serious.

"I'm sorry... I'll go get the First Aid bag..."

"This is no time for jokes, Harry", she said, serious. "One of the only people who still supported us has betrayed us. And, we are almost caught..."

Harry walked over to her with the First Aid bag, and started cleaning her wound, as Hermione kept muttering. "Honestly... how stupid can I? Fall into the same trap twice. First at Godric's Hollow, and now..."

"It's not your fault" said Harry, quietly

"Yes, it is! I forced you to go over to the Lovegood's..." Harry was now wrapping a bandage around her leg. "From now on I will think things throughly... better..." Harry had finished with her wound, and Hermione looked down to it.

There was no more blood coming from her anymore, and that made her mood change a little. Harry was still kneeling in front of her, as he watched her.

Hermione looked down to him, and studied his features. "Okay... maybe I did overreacted." She said.

Harry smiled as he reached out for her hand and gave it a little squeeze, she returned the gesture. She had to admit that those couple of days of no speaking and no touching each other had been torture. She missed him terribly, considering he was right there with her... all the time, all alone.

That night, in that forest, in that tent, they weren't just Harry and she wasn't just Hermione. They weren't just a couple of teenagers. They were the only two people in the world who could actually stop Voldemort. And, they were the only thing each of them had left.

Then, they were holding each other by both their hands, and Harry had moved inches closer. Hermione could feel the warm coming from his body, and was thankful, for outside was freezing. She smiled over to him, as he reached out and hugged her lightly.

Hermione rested her head on his shoulder, and breathed in his scent.

"I just want this to be over" he said.

Hermione didn't know what to say. So, she just hugged him more tightly and waited for him to continue speaking.

"We cannot even trust the people we are supposed to trust... First Dumbledore, then Ron... and now Luna's father..." he was holding her desperately, clinging. "It seems right now, the only person I can trust is you"

Hermione buried her face on his neck. She knew just how he felt, for she felt just the same. She imagined his pain was bigger than hers, for the actual weight of the task ahead of them was falling on his shoulders.

"You can trust me" she said with a shaky voice. She hadn't expected her voice to come out like that.

"I know...", his voice was a little shaky, too.

He suddenly pulled away from her, and kissed her on the lips. She immediately closed her eyes and returned the kiss. She hadn't intended to do it that fiercely, but her body reacted automatically.

She graped her arms around his neck, and opened her mouth. He responded all the same, graping his hands around her waist and accepting the offer she was making. As the kiss grew more desperate, so did her heart. She could feel it going faster than ever, and wondered if Harry's was too.

She suddenly pulled away from him, and as he did over to reach back for her, she stopped him.

"Don't ever kiss me again" she said, coldly, as she stood up and walked outside the tent to go the guard for that night.


End file.
